Paul Ince: These two Tottenham players are not an ideal partnership

Paul Ince is not convinced by Tottenham’s central midfield partnership of Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier.

The duo played the full 90 minutes of Spurs’ 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday and summer signing Wanyama scored the winner with a header seven minutes from time.

Mauricio Pochettino had sprung a surprise by demoting Dele Alli to the bench in order to create room for Vincent Jansson up front.

The manager stuck with Wanyama and Dier as his central midfield pair for the second consecutive match after they started the 1-1 draw against Everton last Saturday.

“I’m not sure Wanyama and Dier can play together,” former England midfielder Ince told BT Sport’s Score programme in the aftermath of the match. “They’re in the same part of the pitch and doing the same thing.

“It’s okay when you’re away against a side like Man City, but at home against Crystal Palace you need a bit more creativity in there and that’s where they missed [Mousa] Dembele.”

Belgian midfielder Dembele was unavailable as he is still serving a suspension for violent conduct carried over from last season.

Wanyama scored the winner with a header from a corner after Spurs had the better of the chances in a tight game.

Palace’s best chance fell to Yohan Cabaye but the Frenchman blasted over from 12 yards. Alan Pardew’s side have now lost their opening two games.